Rare aubrite meteor that crashed in Gujarat surprises researchers

New Delhi: On August 17, 2022 villagers of Rantila and Ravel in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district heard a thunderous sound. They thought a jet plane was passing across the skies. No, it wasn’t.

Now scientists say that the meteorite was a unique specimen of aubrite, which is the rare achondrite group of meteorites.

One of its fragments hit a neem tree branch, before splitting into smaller bits. Another big chunk crashed into a porch in Ravel village.

Villagers set out to collect larger pieces weighing 200 grams, which they said smelt like pungent suffer gas, and handed them to scientists at Physical Research Laboratory.

Though it was reduced to fragments during the fall, Researchers believe that the rare aubrite originated from an extremely reduced differentiated parent body in our solar system.

The study published in the journal Current Science suggests that fragments were likely part of a single meteorite mass before breaking during its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere.

Researchers are excited about the fact that rare aubrite had ‘similar and unique characteristics’ of what the report said ‘highly reducing conditions on the surface of planet Mercury’.

This could prove important for understanding planetary processes in the future, India Today reported.

The rare aubrite was last found in India only in 1852 in UP's Gorakhpur”.